One key marker of a great restaurant is that you don’t just get remarkable food in exchange for your hard-earned dollars, you get an experience. From the moment you walk through the door, you’re transported into a world the restaurant is eager for you to enjoy.

At Lafayette Tavern, the newest concept from the Giavos family — known for its empire of eateries including Stella’s, Little Nickel, Perly’s, Kuba Kuba and Galley — the goal is to whisk customers away to the kind of steakhouse that loosened-tie, martini-and-fries dreams are made of.

Leading the charge is Constantine Giavos, son of Katrina and Johnny Giavos and grandson of Stella Giavos, the beloved namesake behind the family’s popular tribute to their Greek roots. A Parsons School of Design graduate, Constantine has long lent himself to the creative direction of many family ventures. But Lafayette Tavern marks his most hands-on role yet, with Giavos stepping in as both co-owner and aesthetic visionary.

Given the family’s reputation as Richmond restaurant royalty, the bar is set high.

“This is the first restaurant that’s fully my concept and the first one I’ve led from start to finish,” he says. “There’s always pressure with a new project … I’m grateful to be working with my parents, and I really commend them for stepping back a bit and trusting me to guide every aspect of Lafayette Tavern.”

Still, Giavos says the restaurant is a family affair, one where he draws from everyone’s unique strengths to make his vision a reality.

“I’m lucky to have an amazing wife who really gets it and understands what kind of project we’re working on and how things need to be,” he says of Rachel Lamel Giavos, a veteran of the fashion industry who was by his side when pitching the restaurant’s concept to the rest of the family. “My mom is a great person to bounce interior [design] things off of; she has a great eye for details. My dad knows how things should taste, what works and just has invaluable experience.”

The details of the restaurant reveal that Lafayette is a personal patchwork of Giavos’ life experiences. Having previously lived in New York City, he cites Donohue’s Steak House — the classic cloth napkin, dark wood-adorned haunt on the Upper East Side — as one major point of inspiration. He’s handpicked every song on the restaurant’s playlist, a testament to the fact that, in addition to having one foot in the restaurant industry, he’s also half of the two-man DJ project “Love Club” alongside food and drink writer, Alex Delany.

When it comes to the food, you can expect something evocative of the way that Giavos describes growing up, frequenting past and present Richmond staples like Kuba Kuba, Mamma Zu, Joe’s Inn, and (naturally) Stella’s: “The classics are classics for a reason.”

You’ll find dishes like chicken paillard, an array of steaks and the aforementioned martini and fries on the menu, accompanied by everything from romantic crooners and James Jamerson to Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Animals over the speakers, depending on the time of night.

All the elements are designed to strike a chord between vintage style and contemporary comfort. From the way Giavos paints the picture, the restaurant might feel — at least energetically speaking — something like the famous long take from “Goodfellas,” in which Henry Hill breezily walks his future wife, Karen, into the side entrance of the Copacabana and through the kitchen, greeting every staff member by name. Elegant, insider, but never not warm and inviting (incidentally, Giavos says Martin Scorsese films were another point of inspiration, alongside restaurant scenes in films like “A Most Violent Year”).

“Hospitality is number one,” he says. “It’s baked into our Greek DNA … Acting too cool or making guests feel like they should be lucky to be there is a total turn-off.”

Lafayette Tavern is set to open this fall. For now, it’s making its presence known through an Instagram account showing nine posts, all of the same menu-like, oxblood rectangle decorated with the restaurant’s name, spelled in looping, cream-colored cursive. It’s a wistful aperitif for what Giavos plans to serve next: a start-to-finish moment of cultivated, “classic American” charm.

“It’s comforting, familiar, a little nostalgic and kind of cinematic,” he says. “My favorite restaurants have a certain energy about them. There’s something you crave even beyond the food — you want to go back and be a part of it all.”

Lafayette Tavern is located at 1011 Lafayette St. and is slated to open fall 2025.